1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to power management and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to power management for cordless electronic devices.
2. Discussion of the Background
Cordless electronic devices, including without limitation portable remote control devices, universal remotes, cell phones, telephones, PDAs, televisions, radios, media players, hand-held tools, scanners, GPS devices, electronic compasses and the like, are powered by a remote power supply, such as a battery, power cell or the like. It is desirable to maximize the time that a cordless electronic device may operate before its power supply must be replaced or recharged. However, the functionality of and demands on cordless electronic devices have increased through the years. The increased functionality and demands require greater power consumption, which results in greater power supply demand and reduced convenience and reliability because of the shorter intervals required between replacing or recharging batteries.
One such cordless electronic device is a remote control, which is used to wirelessly or remotely control numerous devices and appliances found in homes and businesses. The backlighting or lighting of remote control buttons or display areas, such as LED type displays, is highly desirable to allow for convenient use in low light conditions. Further, it is often desirable to include backlighting or lighting of remote control buttons and display areas even in daylight conditions. For example, certain ornamental designs (text size, color of text, color of text background) of remote controls make the button labels more difficult to read in daylight without backlight. Backlighting, however, requires considerable power, which drastically reduces power source life before replacement or recharging. Thus, it is desirable to minimize the use of backlighting, and not to keep the backlighting energized at all times.
It is typical for a remote control with backlighting to require the user to first press one of the buttons on the remote in order to turn on the backlight. This requires that the user know the exact location of the desired button or requires the user to use an additional button specifically for controlling the backlight of the unit followed by a second button press of the desired button. This wastes precious real-estate on the remote control and is difficult for the user.
Some remote controls include a tilt or vibration sensor that will turn the backlight on when the remote control is picked up by the user. It is not uncommon for the tilt-sensor to get “stuck” such that more violent motion is required to turn on the backlight or for the tilt-sensor to register movement due to vibrations not related to the user picking up the remote.
Thus, there exists an unmet need in the prior art for improved power management functionality in a cordless electronic device that substantially eliminates one or more of the disadvantages and problems outlined above.